Although computer networks have become relatively common both in office and in home networking environments, such networks are typically fairly sophisticated and require significant processing power, electrical power, and infrastructure to work well. Some networking applications do not require so robust a network environment, but can benefit from the ability to provide electronic communications between devices.
One such example is the Bluetooth technology that enables a cell phone user to associate and use an earpiece in what is sometimes referred to a personal area network or PAN. Wi-Fi networks enable a Wi-Fi equipped device such as a laptop computer, set-top box, or smart phone to communicate with a wireless gateway to a network such as the Internet, and cellular telephones and tablet computers use cellular data networks to provide similar access to the Internet and to provide other services such as text and multimedia messaging and phone service.
A single device such as a smart phone can include multiple technologies for communicating with other devices, such as a cellular modem for phone calls, messaging, and Internet service, Wi-Fi for email, web browsing, and other Internet services, and Bluetooth for communicating with a wireless headset or car audio system. A car can similarly include Bluetooth for interacting with a passenger's cell phone to provide calling or media playing capabilities, a wireless cellular modem for communicating vehicle accident information, contacting emergency services, or remote vehicle control such as unlocking the doors or disabling the vehicle, and other such communication technologies.
But, these technologies typically require a user to run a certain application or perform another such action to use one device to control or interact with another, such as running a web browser to access the Internet, associating a car's Bluetooth system with a cellular phone and using buttons or voice control to place a call, or actuating a button to contact emergency services via a car's cellular network system.
In a further example, a device such as a cellular phone running a control application or using a web browser interface can be used to control a home automation system, such as to set or program the temperature, view power consumption, or perform other such functions. It is desired to better use the communication capabilities in devices such as phones, cars, and other electronic systems to interact with and control home automation such as utilities.